What Can We Learn from the Market Disasters of the 1970s?
Throughout history, when bad news and events touched the daily lives of investors and caused nest eggs to shrink, it’s been natural to ask, “Is this the end of investing as we know it? Have new developments changed things so much that the old patterns no longer apply?” These four stories should help illustrate an […]
The Hidden High Costs of Index Funds
Here we cover the basics of index funds. Today, many investors use index funds because they provide an easy way to gain cheap, diversified exposure to specific areas of the market. The question is this: Is an index a precise representation of the sector of the market it describes?
A Diversified Portfolio is a Healthy Portfolio
Diversification is one of your most important financial tools. This one strategy can simultaneously limit your exposure to investment risks while also potentially improving expected returns. Best of all, the benefits of diversification are well-documented and supported by over 60 years of academic research. The Benefits of Global Diversification Diversification simply means spreading risks around […]
Consistently Successful Active Managers Are 'Rarer Than Rare'
The following excerpt is from our ebook “12 Principles of Intelligent Investors,” which you can download here. Want to get better at investing? Are you looking for simple, approachable ways to deepen your knowledge of the keys that create financial success? Using academic research and expert advice, this resource offers 12 principles for building wise, […]
A World of Opportunities: The Benefits of Global Diversification
It’s obvious why a U.S.‑based investor may think it’s better to stay away from international investing, but you don’t get the full story by just looking at the short-term returns of different asset classes in isolation. You need to take a long-term perspective and think about how everything affects your total portfolio.
Are Oil Prices Lower Because of the Stock Market?
Is the volatility of oil a result of the volatility of the markets? Or vice versa? Or neither?
How Should an Overvalued Market Affect Your Investment Plan?
Markets don’t move capriciously. They move because something new has happened – new information has arisen. The tricky part is that we don’t know what new information will arise.
The Market Is Risky These Days, but Hasn’t It Always Been?
Lately people have been focusing on how the market has become more volatile. A lot of talking heads throw this out as if it were a proven fact and use it to justify whatever their call of the day happens to be. I decided to look at the numbers and see if the doomsayers are right.
I decided to look at the numbers and see if the doomsayers are right. And while what they’re saying is technically correct (the best kind of correct), we’re simply seeing a return to long-term averages.
Maintaining Your Portfolio Is a Rebalancing Act
Markets bounce around, which means your portfolio will eventually look different than it did when you started. You’ll be taking the wrong amount of risk. We want to bring your portfolio back to where it should be through a process we call “rebalancing.”
Disciplined Investors Don’t Rely on Market Predictions
Authors Note: This article was originally published towards the end of January 2016. To put it mildly, the year got off to a rocky start, and a lot of people were incredibly nervous about what this meant for the markets. While this article specifically addressed the situation at the beginning of 2016, but with a […]
